


burn, baby

by shishiswordsman



Series: an alliance is like friendship, right? (10 days of lawlu 2018) [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 10 days of LawLu, Action/Adventure, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Injury, M/M, Pre-Relationship, sorry about the title lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-16 05:46:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14805509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shishiswordsman/pseuds/shishiswordsman
Summary: The next time they go to an island with desert, Luffy’s going to pass on exploring.Written for 10 days of LawLu, day 3: healing/injured!





	1. go walk around in the desert, they said

It all goes down on an island with tall, dry trees and desert everywhere the eye can see. The island reminds Luffy of Alabasta, only hotter, if that’s possible.

There’s only one town on the island, and the people there don’t seem to mind that the Straw Hat pirates are, well in fact, _pirates_ — as long as they don’t break stuff. Luffy’d walked through the town with Usopp the other day, and a lady had given him a leg of meat because she thought he looked too skinny. Usopp had laughed for a solid ten minutes about that. So yeah, Luffy definitely likes the island they’ve docked on this time. It’s kind of nice, just way too hot for anyone’s comfort.

Chopper shares his opinion wholeheartedly, and the reindeer and rubber man have retreated to the shade of Nami’s mikan trees with some ice cubes they stole under Sanji’s watchful eye. Luffy’s busy drawing their pirate flag on Chopper’s tummy with the ice cube and making Chopper giggle helplessly, when Robin returns with Law and Franky from the city. They have a big book with them, about the size of Chopper, actually, and they all look like they’re deep in thought.

This must be interesting, Luffy thinks to himself, shoves the ice cubes in Chopper’s waiting hooves, and hops down to his nakama. He doesn’t really plan to land on Law’s shoulders, but he does anyway. His ally grunts and shoots Luffy a glare, but it’s for show more than anything else. Luffy knows this because not a moment later Law also lifts a hand to Luffy’s thigh to keep him from falling off.

Robin chuckles. “You’re going to break poor Law’s back with entrances like that one day, Luffy.”

Luffy just laughs. “Robin, you worry too much! Torao doesn’t really mind, right?”

Law sighs exasperatedly. “I’d prefer if you used your own legs, seeing as they’re perfectly usable. For now.”

“See?” Luffy grins widely. “Why do you guys look so serious? Did you find something cool?”

“Something _super_ cool, yeah!” Franky says proudly, sunlight gleaming off his shades. He points to the book with a wave of his hand, and Robin grows an arm to open it to a page with a picture of a small waterfall and lots of beautiful plants on it.

“That oasis is supposed to be hidden in the centre of this island, Luffy,” Robin explains. “It’s gone unfound for hundreds of years, though, and the locals don’t seem to believe in its existence anymore. The water’s meant to have healing properties.”

“Torao! We gotta go explore that,” Luffy decides, suddenly forgetting all about the blazing heat. An adventure with Law is way too nice to pass up on, even if it means wandering out to the desert where it’ll be even hotter in the absence of the cool sea breeze.

To his surprise Luffy can feel Law nodding against his thighs. “Yes, I was thinking along those lines too. It should be interesting.”

“If the shopkeeper was right, there should be plenty of medicinal herbs there,” Robin muses, and Law nods again.

“They’re called sanguine sun stars, supposed to help counteract the effects of the desert. We could probably sell them for good money to the locals.”

Law probably says something else, too, but Luffy’s not listening anymore. His grin grows in size, and he pumps his fist in the air as he makes up his mind. He hops off Law so fast it nearly topples the taller pirate off balance. “Then it’s decided, we’re going! _Sanji!_ Me ‘n Law are gonna need pirate lunch boxes!”

Fifteen minutes later Luffy and Law are walking down the streets of the small town, backpacks full of food and water. Robin didn’t let them tear the page from the book, so that’s now in the back pack too, and Luffy’s supposed to be careful not to cause any damage to it. It has a map of sorts, apparently, so it should be useful.

Luffy’d tried to get other people from both his and Law’s crew to join, but everyone had complained something about how _‘traveling in the desert during the hottest time of day is dangerous, Luffy, blah blah blah’._ Scaredy cats, Luffy thinks to himself and starts laughing. Law glances at him from under the brim of his hat.

“What’s so funny, Luffy-ya?”

“Nothing, I just don’t get why the others wouldn’t come too. It’s only some sand?” Luffy says, steepling his fingers behind his head. “It’s kinda nice that it’s the just two of us, though. Like a date.”

Law sputters something in reply, like Luffy knew he would. He laughs. They haven’t exactly defined whatever’s going on between them, but Luffy knows he likes Law in a different way than the rest of his nakama. He likes holding Law’s hand and holding him close and kissing him, and though he does almost all of that with the rest of his nakama, it’s different with Law.

He doesn’t kiss his crew, though. Apparently good night’s kisses are a bit weird unless it’s with brothers that are not named Ace, or whatever it is Law is to him now.

Luffy doesn’t really care what it is that sets them out from regular allies and nakama, and thinking too hard on it makes his head hurt, anyway. Law doesn’t seem to care too much about labels, either. They’ll figure it out, and in the meantime it’s fun to make Law blush and mumble excuses by teasing him like this.

They make it out of the city quickly, and the first couple of hours are passed with Luffy rambling and eating most of their lunches. The sun has climbed up high in the sky, but Luffy’s dressed light and the water in his backpack is cold, so it doesn’t really bother him that much.

The desert sucks, but he thinks of the waterfall and the cool medicine plants he can bring back to make Chopper smile, and it doesn’t feel as bad anymore.

They stop to hide in the shadow created by some trees when noon comes and the sun turns the sand into something blistering hot and makes the air feel like it boils in their lungs. Luffy slumps on some rocks by the tree roots, panting for air. The rocks are cool, and Luffy’s so, so hot. Lying on them feels blissful.

Law sits by the entrance of their small shelter, Kikoku propped against his shoulder. He’s taken the book from Luffy’s backpack and studies it now, tells Luffy that they should be almost there. This naturally makes Luffy want to leave the shade immediately, but Law makes him wait until the sun isn’t at its highest point anymore.

“If we go out now I’d end up carrying you to the oasis when you start melting like a rubber band over a pyre,” Law says, and while he might have a point, he’s also super annoying when he’s right like this.

Luffy sticks his tongue out. “You wouldn’t have to carry me, Torao. It’s me who carries you, remember?”

He earns a roll of eyes for that. “That was _one_ time.”

“At least two!”

Law shakes his head exasperatedly and Luffy jumps over to sit beside him, so close that their shoulders are all but brushing together. They wait for the sun to move, finishing the last of their food and some of the water.

When they leave the air is getting slightly cooler, and Luffy can smell running water in the distance. He takes Law’s hand in his and starts tugging him along in an almost run.

“We’re almost there, Torao!” he implores as Law tries to get them back to what he calls a ‘reasonable’ pace.

“Yes, we are. So I’m sure you can wait for long enough to walk there, since you don’t even know where you’re going.”

Luffy shrugs. “Just point to where we need to go and I’ll rocket us there.”

Law bonks the back of his head with the hilt of his sword. “Absolutely not.”

Luffy’s just about to counter that with a smart ‘absolutely yes’, but then there’s a sound behind them, a shift in the air.

Luffy’s haki flares with a warning, and he ducks down under an enormous claw in the nick of time. Something growls loudly, and Luffy flips over with the momentum of his dodge, landing in the hot sand with his knees bent and stance lowered. Beside him, Luffy hears Law unsheathe his sword.

In front of them is a huge lizard-shaped monster, something straight from one of Usopp’s stories. Its teeth are the size of Luffy’s forearm, and the look on its face is as enraged as a lizard’s can be. It’s monstrous, towers over them both.

Luffy grins, eyes glinting with excitement. “Torao! I found dinner!”

“That you did,” he hears Law say, and then Luffy has to hop out of the way of the lizard’s bite, his hand on his hat to keep it in place. The lizard hisses in anger when he sinks both his fists to the back of its head, and the sibilant cadence of Luffy’s laugh rings with the wind.

Law scores a deep cut in the lizard’s side, and it bristles, curls in on itself with a warning growl. Luffy throws his arms back for one last bazooka, and the lizard goes down with a wailing cry.

Luffy cheers, pumping his fist in the air victoriously. “If the cove thingy isn’t far, do you think we could drag this over there and cook it?” he asks Law, who hums in thought before smirking.

“I don’t see why not. Follow me.”

Luffy lets out a cheerful shout. “Yosh! This is awesome, Torao. This thing is _huge!”_

He’s just done saying that and about to heave the big lizard on his shoulder when it happens. From behind them, a loud roar sounds, splitting the air with the sheer anger in it. Luffy whips around, his stance lowering and hands going into fists on instinct.

The lizard wasn’t alone, it seems.

The one they killed must have been this lizard’s young, because it’s twice the size, and horns protrude from its head where the other one had hard, scale covered ridges. Its roar is bloodthirsty and enraged, much louder than the one’s they just defeated. Luffy grins twice as wide.

“Torao, I was wrong,” he calls out, _“This_ is dinner.”

He misses Law’s reply when Lizard Number Two hisses sharply, and its jaws snap shut only a hair’s width from Luffy. It’s breath reeks, and Luffy makes a face before stretching his leg above the lizard’s head and using the ricochet to ram its head deep into the sand.

What he doesn’t see coming, however, is the lizard’s tail flailing out in a lethal arc. It slashes a deep cut to Luffy’s arm and his side. The lizard’s feet kick up enough sand to obscure both it and Luffy from vision, and the sand gets everywhere; in Luffy’s clothes, his hair, his mouth, his _eyes_ _—_

When he hears the monster growl again, his eyes are full of sand and he can’t see anything. He dodges the incoming swipes with his haki, but Lizard Number Two must be drawn to the scent of his blood because it’s hardly even deterred by Luffy’s punches anymore. Luffy grits his teeth and clenches his fists. He just needs two seconds to get the sand from his eyes…

“Luffy!” Law shouts, and then a blue glow envelops Luffy for a split second before he lands on a sand dune. There’s a loud, inhuman shriek of pain.

Luffy wipes his eyes clean with the back of his hand, the sand making them burn uncomfortably, and he turns around just in time to watch as Lizard Number Two draws its head closer to its body as if in preparation. Its front legs are missing, cut off with a swipe of Law’s sword. Law must have shambled the lizard away from Luffy when he’d seen that Luffy was having trouble.

Law flicks blood from his blade with a casual movement of his wrist. “I didn’t think you’d be done in by sand, Luffy-ya.”

“It got in my eye,” Luffy says, pouting and glaring daggers at the lizard. “Stupid gator…”

The lizard slumps to the ground, tormented cries leaving its giant maw as it trashes in pain. Law turns to look at Luffy briefly, smirking. “Such a high bounty, and yet this happens. Guess you owe me dinner.”

Luffy’s about to laugh and agree, but the lizard stops wailing and a shiver runs up Luffy’s spine. Luffy only realises what’s happening right when the lizard growls and spits out something green and sizzling. Luffy’s too far to push Law out of the way.

Half a second later Law falls to his knees, coughing and shouting in pain. Luffy forgets the lizard entirely as soon as he sees Law go down. His arms lose their black sheen and his face goes slack with surprise. He rushes to his ally.

Law’s eyes are blown wide with pain, and though his chest heaves he doesn’t seem to be getting enough air. The green stuff is all over him, on his neck, his chest, some of it even lines his jaw. Patches of burnt skin peek out from under Law’s sleeves, the fabric of his shirt all but melted into the skin. Luffy grimaces. That must hurt like hell.

His hands hover over his injured ally, because Luffy wants to help but he doesn’t know _how_. He wipes some of the goo off Law with his hands, revealing angry, blistering red skin. Law hisses, and his eyes lose focus as his back arches with pain.

The green stuff leaves Luffy’s hands raw and hurting, too, but he hardly even notices. Luffy wipes them on the sand.

“It’s like acid,” he says to no one in particular. “Hang on, Law. I’ll think of something.”

Law nods stiffly, jaw clenched. His eyes have some focus back to them, and Luffy knows Law understands, trusts that Luffy will get them both to safety.

The lizard doesn’t appreciate being ignored, and it hisses behind Luffy and Law. It must think that they’re easy prey now that one of them is weakened, and globs of the green acid fly through the air, aimed at Law.

Luffy won’t fail to protect him this time.

He coats his skin with armament and throws his arm out without looking, and the green goo splatters harmlessly on the sand. Some of it hits Luffy’s back, and the sting makes an involuntary pressure form behind Luffy’s nose, making his eyes water. Crap, if that doesn't hurt.

The acid is only on his back, though. Law is drenched in the stuff.

“That’s it,” Luffy mutters and cracks his knuckles before inflating the bones in his arms. The elephant gun does the job, and Luffy turns his back on the lizard before it even lands on the ground. Lizard Number Two doesn’t get up again.

“You’ll be okay,” Luffy tells Law firmly. “The water place isn’t too far away, right? Just hold on.”

He pulls Law to his arms, ignoring the pained noise that crawls out of his ally’s throat as he’s jostled. He runs fast enough that his sandals fall off his feet, following the smell of running water. The sand burns his feet and the air feels too hot in his nose and mouth, but Luffy doesn’t stop, doesn’t slow down.

He finds the oasis after five minutes of running around in circles. It’s hidden in what looks like a giant sand dune, but is actually a formation of rocks lining the oasis, a naturally formed crevasse in the sand. Luffy climbs down carefully, mindful of the injured pirate in his arms. It truly is beautiful; vivacious colours, chirping birds, flowers everywhere the eye can reach. Luffy doesn’t spare it a second glance.

There’s a small waterfall in the lake that the trees and plants surround, and Luffy wastes no time getting both himself and Law into the crystal-clear water. He submerges Law almost entirely but stays on the waterline himself, avoiding the ocean’s curse the best he can. The water’s pleasingly warm where it laps against his ankles, but it feels chilly against Luffy’s flushed, hot skin. Law groans as Luffy runs his hands on his skin to wash the green acid off him, but his breathing evens out a bit. Luffy takes that as a good sign.

He hauls Law to the waterline, out of the still waters that must sap Law’s strength as it does his own. He pulls Law to a patch of soft, green grass, wipes his bangs off his eyes. “Law? You awake?”

“Unfortunately,” comes Law’s pained reply. Saying just one word robs him of breath. “Wha— what was that?”

“The lizard got you. I killed it.”

Law nods. His fingers dig into the grass below as he gasps for air, and his expression is wrung with an injured desperation that makes Luffy ill at ease. He frowns. “I washed that gunk off, but you’re not getting better. Did you hurt your head or something?”

It takes Law way too long to reply, and when he does his voice is no louder than a whisper. “Must be —” Law stops to gasp for air, “ah, fuck. Poison. It’s poison.”

“That’s why you’re still hurting,” Luffy mutters grimly. Law says nothing more, and after a moment his eyes roll to the back of his head and he goes limp. Luffy bites the inside of his cheek to centre himself. He tears a bit of his sleeve and wets it in the spring, pressing it to Law’s forehead like he’s seen his nakama do, felt them do it to him after a fight.

Law’s skin is far too clammy and hot for comfort, and Luffy knows next to nothing about all this healing stuff, but even he knows that Law’s not doing well. He needs Chopper, but Chopper’s far away on the Sunny, and they’re separated by a stretch of, bleh, _hot hot hot desert._

Luffy looks down at Law, and the decision isn’t all that difficult to make anymore. Before that though, there’s something they need to do. There’s a reason they ventured out here, after all.

“Law, wake up,” he says. Law doesn’t move, so Luffy slaps him in the face. “Law, I gotta ask you something,” he repeats more sternly.

Law’s eyes blink open slowly, his face scrunching with pain. He mumbles something incomprehensible at first, and soon the mumbles turn into words. “Uh, fuck… What is it?”

Luffy scours the oasis with his gaze, stares hard at the plants as he speaks. “The medicinal herbs, what do they look like?”

 “They… They could help, yes.” Law stops to cough. “They’re shaped like stars. Red. Big.”

Luffy nods, and he wets the rag again. Law’s eyes close and his face loses a couple of crinkles as Luffy presses the cool cloth on his skin. Luffy runs his fingers through Law’s hair once before saying; “I’ll go find them, and after that we’re going to see Chopper. Okay?”

“Guess you’re carrying me again after all, Luffy-ya,” Law murmurs weakly, and he makes this wet noise that might have been a laugh, but isn’t.

Luffy doesn’t want to let Law out of his sight, but he kind of has to if he wants to find the plant that could help him. Thankfully, big red plants aren’t exactly hard to spot.

Law wasn’t kidding; one of leafy vertexes that form the star shape is almost the size of Luffy’s head, and Luffy’s surprised to find their surface slimy and cold when he touches his fingertips against it. The cold will definitely be useful.

Luffy stuffs his pockets with the leaves and takes the biggest and brightest one to Law. He’s not entirely sure, but he thinks Law looks worse off. His skin has lost pallor and his breathing is shallower than before, more laboured.

Luffy tears the leaf into strips and wraps them sloppily on the burns marring Law’s tanned skin. He ties the last bit of the biggest plant around Law’s head, fastening it with his yellow sash. Next, he tears his shirt into pieces so he can tie Law to his back. The burns on his back stings like hell with the skin contact, and it’s a bit difficult to walk in a way that doesn’t leave Law’s legs dragging on the ground, but eventually Luffy manages to secure Law in place. He has to walk at an angle to keep all of Law in the air because he’s so much taller than Luffy, but that’s okay.

Before they leave, Luffy takes Law’s hat off his head and replaces it with his own. Law’s hat is heavy and furry and would only cook Law’s brain more under the searing sun, so it gets the questionable honour of being stuffed in Luffy’s back pocket instead. He leaves their backpacks containing all the supplies and the book with the route to the oasis behind in his dust. He can’t carry both them and Law.

“I’ll get you to Chopper,” he promises Law, though his ally is beyond hearing the words. “He’ll fix you up, and you’ll be good as new. Trust me.”

He pretends not to see the way Law’s breath hitches, stops for a moment, and then starts up again. Getting hit in the chest with that green stuff probably isn’t doing wonders to his lungs.

The sun is still high when Luffy starts the trek back. It had taken Luffy and Law over three hours to reach the oasis by foot, and that was when they were unhindered by injury or someone else’s weight. It’s going to take ages to get back to the Sunny like this. Luffy tries to run for a while to make the trip shorter, but the sand seems insistent on making him trip, and all he achieves are sore palms for catching himself on the hot sand before he completely falls and risks hurting Law.

The first couple of hours feel like years, and the scenery around them never changes. It’s always sand-sand-tree-sand-sand, to a point where Luffy’s not sure he’s making any progress at all. The next time they go to an island with desert, Luffy’s going to pass on exploring.

He walks, walks, walks. One foot in front of the other, don’t mind the burning hot sand. Walk. Law.

He’s so thirsty that Franky could use his tongue as sandpaper, and each step he takes makes his entire body protest with flaring aches and pains. Hours must have passed from the moment they left the shade of the oasis, for the sun hangs lower in the sky, and Luffy can no longer smell water.

He’s not sweaty anymore, just hot. The sun has got to be burning a hole through his head, Luffy just knows it, but he can’t give in. Law’s relying on him to make it back to the shore.

He starts telling Law stories to stay in the moment; about the adventures he’s had while they’ve been separated, about Usopp’s new inventions, about Brook’s new songs, about anything. Still, the desert blurs together around the edges, and darkness threatens to ensnare Luffy’s vision.

The last time he saw Ace before he lost him was in a desert just like this; with the sun high in the sky, sand in his eyes and his hair and his nakama waiting for him on their ship.

He’s got a new ship now, and some new crew members that weren’t in Alabasta with them then, but the core concept is the same. Luffy shakes his head to rid himself of stupid thoughts. He’s going to get Law to Chopper even if it kills him, and that’s that.

But the sand gets in his eyes just like then, and when Luffy tries to wipe it off he only makes it worse. He’s pretty sure he’s lost, because it sure as hell didn’t take them this long to reach the oasis. The sand is so hot it’s burned the soles of his feet, and Luffy leaves behind a trail of red with each step.

“We’ll make it there,” he chants to himself and Law. “Chopper’s there so you’ll be okay. Sanji’s going to make food, and then we’ll sleep for a long time.”

Law doesn’t reply, though Luffy didn’t exactly expect him to. He tries to ignore the way Law’s breath hitches and stops in his ears. It’s only gotten weaker, and even though Luffy’s tripped more times than he can count, Law hasn’t even stirred. That can’t be good.

The Sunny appears in the horizon when the sun is starting to set, and making his feet move is getting to be an insurmountable task. Luffy grins tiredly, peers at his home, his eyes half lidded and bloodshot.

He wants to rocket them both over to the Sunny, because rocketing them means getting home faster, and Luffy _really_ wants to go home. But Sanji warned him back then, back on Drum and snow and ice, that jumping and jolting Nami would hurt her worse. Luffy doesn’t want Law to be even more hurt.

The last couple hundred metres seem to last forever, and Luffy’s body _aches,_ his skin and muscles feel like they’ve been set on fire. Luffy calls for Chopper hoarsely before he even runs up on deck. “Chopper! Law needs help!”

The next few moments pass in the blink of an eye — Chopper’s brown fur, Law’s weight being removed from his back, someone asking if he’s okay. The next thing Luffy knows, he’s sitting in the infirmary and Sanji’s shoving water in his face with poorly hidden concern.

Luffy drinks the water like he’s dying for it — which he is, quite literally — but he never looks away from Law and Chopper.

Chopper is setting up an IV, mumbling something about an antivenom, and Luffy knows that Law is going to be okay. As soon as he realises that, fatigue hits him like a sea train. His eyelids get a thousand kilos heavier, and he sways in his seat, shoulders slumping.

Sanji catches him before he falls out of the chair. “Easy there, Captain. Chopper still needs to take a look at you too. You left blood all over the deck.”

“M’sorry, Sanji,” Luffy slurs like a drunken man, half hearing Sanji’s words and comprehending even less. “Didn’t mean to.”

Sanji just shakes his head. “That’s not what I meant. C’mon, if you’re going to sleep you might as well get in bed.” He gently drags Luffy to his feet and then over to Law and Chopper. Law’s pale but the look on his face is peaceful rather than pained, and based on the easy rise and fall of his chest the oxygen mask is doing a good job easing his breathing.

“You did a good job getting him to me as fast as you could. A couple hours longer and the paralytic would have reached his heart and nervous system,” Chopper tells him, and a weight lifts off Luffy’s chest.

“He’ll be okay,” Luffy mutters. He climbs into the cot with Law, wincing at the burns in his back and his feet. “That’s good.”

Chopper treats his back with something cool and heavenly, and Luffy mutters a thank you as the pain in his burns all but disappears, leaving behind only utter exhaustion. The waves lap against the Sunny’s hull and in the distance, Luffy can hear Brook tuning out a peaceful melody with his violin and Chopper talking to Sanji about something. The words are dulled and muffled in Luffy’s ears, but they’re familiar, make him feel cozy and safe.

Luffy smiles, rests his head on Law’s shoulder. He passes out holding Law’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I'm a sucker for self sacrifice in fics... To be continued with a healthy dose of fluff on day 5: reunion/separation! 
> 
> Also huge thanks to [Lulu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawlawlu) for reading through this and being overall just wonderful. Go check out his fics!


	2. it will be fun, they said

When Law wakes up, his entire world is askew and blurry. He groans, mumbles a couple of choice words, and doesn’t realise he’s doing any of that until someone shifts beside him. Everything is hazy; reality blurs at the edges around him, consciousness mixing with the darkness of sleep.

His skin feels numb, and for a moment that really sends him for a trip because the lack of stimuli tries to convince his brain that his body doesn’t exist anymore. He’s pretty sure that it does, though. He doesn’t recall becoming ethereal, and he can feel a steady pressure on his chest and side, can see his body covered in bandages, and the sight grounds him. Perhaps he’s been sedated? The numbness is wearing off quickly, though, dissipated with each passing beat of his heart.

What happened? The memories don’t want to surface no matter how much Law prods at them, and the only things he can pull forth are fragments of his walk to the oasis with Luffy. They’d fought… something. Luffy’s crew must have rescued them.

The source of pressure shifts again, roused by Law’s noising, and Law recognizes the sleepy grumble that leaves it. He blinks the remainder of sleep from his eyes, tries to sit up but finds that he can’t do much more than move his head to the side.

“Luffy-ya?” he murmurs, his throat an absolute mess of scratchy pain. He doesn’t really want to hear what his voice sounds like should he attempt anything louder than a whisper.

The pressure beside him moves, sitting up with a yawn and a lazy stretch. Law can see him now — Luffy, with his midsection and chest covered in bandages much like all of Law’s upper body appears to be. He looks exhausted, but otherwise okay. Law feels better already.

“T'rao?” Luffy mumbles, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. “Did you say something?”

“Unless there’s someone else that calls you Luffy-ya, then I must have,” Law says, can’t resist smirking. Luffy’s eyes widen and his mouth stretches into a grin.

“Torao! You’re up!” His smile widens — a tell-tale signal and a warning sign all the same, and one that Law’s muddled mind recognizes but doesn’t register until it’s too late. Luffy pulls him into a hug as careful and gentle as a pack of kung-fu dugongs, and Law’s pained grunt at the impact doesn’t do much to keep him at bay. He would happily fight a dozen more of those lizards, if it meant they'd also teach Luffy about personal space.

“Yes, I’m up. What are you doing in my cot?” Law asks, because first things first.

“I dunno, I kinda just passed out here.” Luffy sits back, frowns absently at the bandages wrapped around his torso and his arms. “You’ve been sleeping for like, a real long time. I thought you didn’t like to sleep for long.”

“Unconsciousness does that for a person,” Law says flatly.

“Oh, right.” Luffy gives Law a once-over with his eyes, brows slightly furrowed. “Are you okay, do you need Chopper?”

“I’m fine,” Law assures. The numbness has more or less disappeared, and his skin is starting to feel tight and uncomfortable under the bandages. He tries sitting up and succeeds this time, managing to lean against the wall in some sort of a hunch.

He wouldn’t mind seeing Chopper sometime soon. Not because he thinks he’s in need of care, but because Chopper’s account on why his body feels like an odd, tingling, and aching mess will surely be far more coherent than any explanation Luffy could give.

Luffy, however, will know the details of what landed him in the infirmary this time.

“What happened? All I remember is the desert and something attacking us.” Law wiggles his fingers idly in front of him, forming the shape of a room out of habit. "After that, it’s a blur.”

“There was this lizard bastard. Its spit was acid or poison or both, and it nailed you with it. Dick move,” Luffy explains eloquently.

“It hit me with —” Law pauses, memories nagging at the edge of his mind. “I got taken down by _spit?”_

“Yeah,” Luffy confirms. “We took down one of them and then you got surprised by the other.”

And now Law remembers — the lizard’s tail sweeping up enough sand to almost obscure Luffy from vision, Luffy’s grunt of pain, the panic, and the hastily summoned room. “That second lizard caught me off guard,” he mutters. “You took me to the oasis, I remember that. What happened to the lizard?”

“I killed it,” Luffy tells him, and the look on his face turns into something hard and strangely serious, shadows of what happened in the desert darkening his normally bright eyes. Law brushes his fingers against Luffy’s shoulder, and the smile returns to Luffy’s face in a flash. “Yeah, anyway! I washed the gunk off you and then Chopper fixed us up using the flowers! I don't know if you remember since you were totally out of it, but you told me how to find them.”

Luffy gestures to the table beside the infirmary bed, where Chopper has left the red leaves hanging out to dry. It’s only when Law sees the flowers that he remembers the oasis, the blistering pain, the cool water and Luffy's voice, and he places the flowers’ scent at the oasis with the soft, sweet smell that permeates the infirmary.

"What happened to you, then? You’re injured.”

“Yeah, I got kinda scratched by the lizard thing, and then it got me with its spit too. I got careless, I guess, but I’m okay now, Chopper fixed me up after he fixed you!” Luffy’s tone is untroubled as ever, and the words come out as offhanded and calm as they would if he was talking about the weather.

It _does_ sound surprisingly mundane compared to their usual adventures, and Law relaxes. The knowledge that he got injured doesn’t sit well with him, but that’s nothing compared to what he had at first guessed, at least.

His eyes wander to Luffy’s bandaged hand. Each finger has been carefully wrapped up, and Luffy’s hands seem to be in a permanent state of small scratches and scrapes, but this is overkill. “I suppose a thank you is in order,” he starts, eyes flicking up from Luffy’s hand to his face. “For saving me.”

Luffy’s eyes crinkle at the corners with how wide he’s grinning. “Yeah, no problem. Hey, are you hungry? Sanji made popsicles.”

Law nods, but Luffy doesn’t leave. He looks into Luffy’s eyes for a moment, and they stay like that, with the younger captain rocking on the balls of his feet, facing Law. Luffy’s awfully close to him, now, their noses all but pressing together, and Law kind of wants to shove him off the bed, kind of wants to kiss him, to make sure he’s really there and okay.

Before he can say anything more, they can hear floorboards creaking outside, and the part of Law that wanted to shove Luffy off the bed gets increasingly louder.

Law shoves Luffy off balance with his foot, and Luffy falls off the cot giggling. Luffy’s foot hits Law squarely in the stomach on his way down, right on top of a burnt patch of skin, and Law hisses. “Watch it.”

Luffy rubs his nose with his hand, shoots a half-hearted glare up at Law. “You’re the one who pushed me down, Torao.”

“Whatever. Are you going to get those popsicles or not?” Law asks. Luffy’s out the door in half a second.

Chopper comes in soon after, and he chides Law for moving around, fusses over slightly undone bandages. He tells Law the medical side of things — that he should expect little to no scarring with how effective the burn ointment Chopper used was, but if he steps out of that bed for another day or two Chopper will chain him to it — but shies away from Law’s questions about Luffy and how they transferred Law from the oasis to the Sunny.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Chopper says, wringing his hooves nervously in front of him. “Not as bad as, um… Well, it’s easier to cool him down than heat him back up.”

“What do you mean? Luffy told me you came to find him on the oasis.”

Chopper looks away, and all Law gets in the way of reply is some very roundabout mumbling about how he should go and how Law should drink plenty of water.

Chopper exits the infirmary with an excuse more transparent than air, and he leaves a plethora of questions in his wake. Doctor-patient confidentiality aside, there’s something Chopper’s not telling Law, and it makes him think that Luffy greatly downplayed how injured he truly is.

Luffy doesn’t show up back to the infirmary until much later, when Sanji’s already brought Law dinner and the lights have been dimmed. Luffy comes in with Chopper, arguing in somewhat hushed tones about whether or not Luffy still needs to sleep in the infirmary. Law had been asleep himself, but Luffy’s not quiet even when he tries to be, so he’d woken up long before Luffy and Chopper had even walked through the door. He lies in the cot, half awake, and tries to fall back to sleep.

“You’re injured, so you’re sleeping here, where I can treat you quickly if you need it.”

“I’m the Captain, and I want to sleep in my own bed. This room is,” Luffy pauses to find the words, “It’s too clean. It smells weird.”

“No it doesn’t.”

“Does too!”

Law rolls his eyes under closed lids. The infirmary smells of antiseptic and herbs and _clean_ , and to someone who’s practised medicine most of his life, the smell is comforting. To Luffy, it’s just a sign of weakness, of injury. Law can’t blame him for not wanting to sleep here.

Chopper hisses something to Luffy, who whines and grumbles and all but throws a tantrum, but doesn’t actually put up much of a fight when Chopper pushes him to the bed beside Law’s.

It takes about half a second after Chopper leaves for Luffy to get out of his own cot and clumsily climb into Law’s. It takes about three seconds after that for him to be deeply asleep, and Law wraps an arm around him, deep in thought.

The way Chopper had hesitated earlier when Law’d asked about Luffy’s injuries unsettles him. He assumes Luffy called for help, seeing as he was injured and Law wasn’t even conscious, and they probably had miniature den den mushi in their backpack anyway. But a small, insistent part of him, the part that knows better, knows _Luffy_ better… That part tells him that that’s not the Straw Hat captain’s style, and Law’s inclined to agree.

He’s not sure what to make of it, and he’s tempted to wake Straw Hat up and demand the truth from him directly but can’t bring himself to do it. Snoring and farting and overall gross as Luffy is, he is also injured, and he _did_ save Law’s life. Again.

The next day Chopper gives him permission to leave the infirmary, and Law relishes the fresh air and the sun on his skin. He gets a stern ‘stop being a reckless asshole’-talk from Nami, which means that she was probably concerned for him, which in turn explains why Black Leg gets on his case as well.

Their concern would be touching, if it weren’t that also in a literal sense. Law’s arm is bound to have bruises from how hard Nami punched it.

When he’d woken up, Luffy had been long gone, and his side had felt cold. He hasn’t really seen much of Luffy all day, which probably means that he’s doing something idiotic Usopp and Chopper, and disturbing them would make Law an accomplice. Deciding that he needs to sort out his thoughts before talking to Luffy, anyway, Law resolves to spend the day in the Sunny’s library.

Robin is already there, flipping through a big tome with pages that look frail enough to crumble to dust at the snap of one’s fingers. Law picks a book about seafaring from the many shelves and after a moment of consideration adds three others to the pile. He settles in a chair by the wall, the books carefully stacked the armrest beside him.

He’s gotten all the way to chapter three when Robin puts away her book. “He means a lot to you, doesn’t he? Enough that you’d willingly blind yourself to the facts.”

“What?” Law hears himself ask, though it’s painfully obvious who Robin is talking about. Robin says nothing, doesn’t even look up from her closed book. “I didn’t —”

“I’m not accusing you of anything, Torao-kun,” Robin says, the corner of her mouth tugging to a slight smile before it turns back into a neutral line. “But it must bother you, not knowing everything. If I might offer some advice?”

“I doubt my opinion will affect what you do, so be my guest.”

Robin finally looks up. “Before recruiting me, my crew once stopped on an island called Drum. They stopped there to get medical attention for Nami, but the island’s only doctor lived on top of a huge mountain. It was snowing, and the islanders didn’t know how the doctor usually travelled up and down the mountain.”

Law grits his teeth, and it’s as if Robin had poured icy water on him with how cold he suddenly feels. Robin continues. “I’ve only read what Nami wrote down in the log books, and she was unconscious during most all of it, but when they left to climb the mountain, Luffy and Sanji were fully healthy, and when they got up there, Luffy was the only one conscious.”

The lump of doubt that’d been sitting pretty in Law’s belly gets heavier, and he gets the sneaking suspicion that he was right. For once, he hates being right. Robin had only given him the barest building blocks of the story, but Law’s good at puzzles, and it doesn’t take him long to piece together what happened.

“He… Luffy didn’t signal you for help, did he?” he asks, sees the answer on Robin’s face before she gives it.

“No.” Robin’s tone turns a touch darker. “Sanji told me he smelled of burning rubber when he came in because of how badly the desert affected him. They aired out the infirmary for hours after,” she says, voice carefully measured.

“I had a feeling there was something he didn’t tell me,” Law mutters. “I should have assumed as much. Fuck, I’m an _idiot!”_

“Please don’t hold it against Chopper. I don’t think he wanted you to worry. I doubt Luffy meant to deceive you either, but you’ll have to ask him yourself.”

Law nods. The nagging voice at the back of his mind mocks him, and he’s a fool, he really is, for ignoring it until now. He’d just assumed that Luffy’d act logically, and that was his second mistake after letting a goddamn lizard blindside him. Of course Luffy’d pull an idiotic, reckless and self-sacrificing stunt like that — he always does, and Law supposes he _really_ should have guessed as much. It’s hard, though; thinking clearly about Luffy is a challenge on good days, and it’s a real task now that he’s injured and his mind is still clouded with exhaustion.

He got careless, and Luffy pushed himself beyond his limits to bring them both back safely. He could have lost Luffy because of his stubborn recklessness, and the knowledge of that makes something clench inside Law’s chest.

One thing is clear — he still has a lot to talk about with Luffy. Law puts his books away in their spots and leaves without a word.

He doesn’t get Luffy alone with him until later, when Luffy’s got the first night watch and Law climbs into the training room with him. Luffy doesn’t seem surprised, nor does he say much by the way of greeting — simply snuggles close to Law, touching his shoulders and his arms and his face, as if he’s forgotten where they are, what they feel like under his soft fingertips.

“You look like a mummy,” he tells Law, “We match.”

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Law mutters. “You’ve been busy all day. I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to you.”

“Yeah? Guess I have.” Luffy tilts his head curiously. “What did you want to talk about?”

Law takes a deep breath. “I want you to tell me about Drum.”

“Oh.”

Luffy doesn’t reply straight away, but he doesn’t look away from Law either. The air between them gets heavier, charged with what’s left unsaid. Luffy’s shoulders get stiff and draw up to his ears before he lets his entire frame slump, dispelling the tension with a huff.

“Aa, I get it,” he says, and Law can all but see the light bulb going off above his head. “Robin told you, didn’t she?”

Law nods. His neck feels stiff. He clears his throat, the words building in his throat until he can hardly even breathe past them. “Did you—” Law falters, has to take a moment to phrase his incredulous doubt. “Did you by chance carry me here from the oasis, Luffy-ya?”

“Well, yeah,” Luffy admits casually, like it’s nothing, “I carried you. What else was I going to do?”

“And you didn’t think that would be something worth mentioning?”

“I thought you knew, Torao, I just didn’t want to make a big fuss about it.” Luffy shrugs. “Besides, it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything, Torao. Don’t get all red in the face over it.”

“I’m not,” Law defends absently. “I assumed you had called for Chopper with the mini den den mushi in our backpack.”

Luffy blinks, stares at Law blankly. “We had one? Man, that would have been handy.”

To be honest, Law’s not sure they had one with them. He certainly didn’t put one in the backpack because they’d both assumed that the trip would be short and safe, but he’d assumed that they had one with them. Assuming that they did is a hell of a lot easier than accepting the idea of Luffy walking through the desert with Law strapped to his back.

“You didn’t even think to check?”

“Not really. I dunno if it matters, since you looked like you didn’t have a lot of time anyway.” Luffy frowns. “Anyway, why does any of that matter? We’re okay, and Nami said that the next island is going to have hot springs.”

“I don’t care,” Law mutters pensively, and Luffy pouts. He starts giving some half assed protests on why they should absolutely talk about the next islands rather than their recent near death experience, but Law isn’t listening.

Instead, Law calculates the distance to the oasis, tries to gauge what Luffy’s truly gone through to save him. He, it… The walk had been challenging even when they’d first set out, and Law can barely remember anything from the desert but pain and air so hot he was freezing. Seeing the bandages on Luffy’s skin carries a different kind of weight, now.

“You should have left me,” he finds himself saying. “You could have gotten help.”

“Nope.”

“You could have died, or gotten us both killed.”

To his surprise, Luffy laughs. “Nah. You’re nakama.”

Luffy sounds so fucking nonchalant about it, like it really means nothing to him that he had to walk through a desert until his feet bled and his brain cooked, and it’s infuriating. Law clenches his eyes shut. “I’m tired of your reckless bullshit. You got hurt because I got hurt, and now I’m responsible. Think of other people too before you endanger yourself.”

“Oi.” Luffy pushes closer, one hand pressing against Law’s chest, right where his heart is. “I didn’t bring it up because I knew you’d be all weird about it, but you’re okay and I’m okay. You owe me nothing, Torao, so shut the hell up.”

“You risked your dream,” Law says quietly. “Can’t be Pirate King if you’re dead.”

“Can’t be Pirate King without all my nakama, either,” comes Luffy’s confident reply, and he sounds as sure of that as he does of the fact that he _will_ be king one day.

“That simple, huh?” Law mutters. He wraps an arm around Luffy’s shoulders, runs his fingers up and down the younger pirate’s bandaged bicep.

Luffy grins. “This is my ship, Torao. I decide what goes, and you gotta live with that.” Luffy tilts his head up so he can press a quick kiss to the corner of Law’s mouth, and it’s so strange that only two seconds ago he was spouting some bullshit about Law owing him nothing, all serious and commanding. Right now, the look on his face is confident and cheery and _fuck_ if that isn’t cute.

“Besides, you saved me too. It’s what nakama do for each other,” Luffy says matter-of-factly, and it’s so hard not to believe him when he gets like this.

“Fair enough,” Law mutters, feels tension drain from his body. He’s only now realising how close Luffy is, how much of his body is pressed against Law’s. He can feel Luffy’s breath against his cheek, for fuck’s sake, that’s _got_ to be too close. And yeah, maybe he likes spending time with Luffy and holding his hand, and maybe he allows the occasional kiss from the cheery younger captain, but it’s not like they’re _dating_ or anything, so _why are you so fucking close, Straw Hat-ya?_

He says that last bit out loud for good measure, because Luffy sure as hell isn’t known for his ability to read unspoken signals. He can hardly understand things when they’re beaten into his dumb rubber skull, and it doesn’t really surprise Law when Luffy only laughs in his face.

“I’m close because it’s nice, dummy.” He squishes himself even more into Law’s side, just to be a little shit. “Don’t you think so?”

Law huffs. He’s quiet for a little while before wrapping an arm around Luffy. “It’s not terrible.”

Luffy grins knowingly. He yawns. “You know, I’m really disappointed we didn’t get to try that lizard. Do you think there’ll be more if we go back?”

“I will throw you out of the window if you even consider that.”

Luffy laughs brightly. “Yeah, that’s what Sanji said too.” He intertwines his fingers with Law’s, and Law squeezes his hand back when Luffy squeezes his.

 _Thank you for saving me,_ Law thinks. “You shouldn’t be so goddamn reckless, Luffy-ya,” is what he says.

“I know,” Luffy admits casually, pinky up his nose.

“You know I’ll really throw you out the window if you try anything like that again.” Law pokes a finger at Luffy’s temple, smirking a bit. “You should have a brain in there, so use it.”

He knows Luffy won’t, but it can’t hurt to remind him of the possibility. He pulls Luffy closer, lets him rest his head against his shoulder. When he falls asleep, Law presses a kiss in his hair.

Luffy's straw hat rests on the bench a bit ways from them, just out of reach, so Law forms a small room and replaces the air around his hand with the hat. Law runs his finger on its brim, feels the course straw bend under his fingertips, and resolves to never get this foolish again.

By the time morning comes, he feels all but healed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm really not happy with this chapter, but i spent so much time on this that i might as well post it. thank you rei for giving this a look!
> 
> also, to anon who said this fic is just like into the sea: you're right, but you shouldn't say it :/


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